Steve Spagnuolo can keep Chiefs safe from lone trade deadline shortcoming

The Kansas City Chiefs were probably the most active team ahead of the trade deadline last week. They were able to upgrade just about every position needed to keep them atop the AFC and NFL in pursuit of a third-straight championship. 

The one position they weren’t able to anchor down was cornerback. And if there’s any defensive coordinator who will mask their lack of production from the secondary, it’s Steve Spagnuolo. 

And he has a good chance to prove the Chiefs will be fine the rest of the way this week against Denver. 

Spagnuolo and his Chiefs defense are in a good spot this week as they’ll face a rookie quarterback who's had an up-and-down start to his career. He started slow as most rookies do, but has since instilled confidence in a Broncos team eager for a playoff push. 

The good thing is Spagnuolo does a really good job putting a plan together against rookie quarterbacks – according to an article on Mile High Sports, Spagnuolo has allowed just two wins against rookie quarterbacks since 2019. 

That doesn’t bode well for the Broncos, but Bo Nix also hasn’t had a conventional rookie season. He’s the latest quarterback with a chance to give the Chiefs their first blemish of the season. 

How Steve Spagnuolo’s Chiefs defense plays against Broncos could shed light on liability in the secondary

When the secondary is the problem, you look to the pass rush to disrupt the quarterback's timing. That exactly seems to be the plan for the Chiefs. While they didn’t add a defensive back, they added a pass rusher. 

Which fits perfectly into Spagnuolo’s scheme. 

This season, Spagnuolo blitzes teams 35 percent of the time with a 27 percent pressure rate. As for Nix this season, he’s been blitzed 87 times this year with an average of 2.6 seconds from snap to pass. He’s also been pressured on 18 percent of his dropbacks. 

Sunday’s game will show us if Spagnuolo’s aggressive defense will be good enough to keep the Chiefs as the hottest team in the NFL. He’s a smart defensive coordinator that knows his teams weaknesses and looks to cover it up as much as possible. 

The blitz-heavy approach has worked so far and if it startles Nix this week, it may just be the key to the Chiefs winning their third-straight Super Bowl.